


Fire

by captainahmedica



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 03:40:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainahmedica/pseuds/captainahmedica
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was based on a prompt I received, which basically said to write an AU using only characters that have died. Definitely a challenge, to say the least.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Fire

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a prompt I received, which basically said to write an AU using only characters that have died. Definitely a challenge, to say the least.

“Your father never taught you how to use a gun?” Andrea had her hand perched above her eyes as a shade from the harsh sun.

“No. He just watched football all day,” Sophia squinted into the bright sky, looking up to Andrea. This is the first conversation with Sophia since they found her yesterday.

“I figured, given the circumstances...”

“Oh. No. Both my parents died right after the police told us to leave our house.”

“Oh, my God, I’m so sorry.” Andrea sat on a large rock behind her and leveled herself to Sophia’s height. Sophia nodded slightly and remained stern. Andrea looked at the grass for a while thinking of what to say to an orphaned nine-year-old child. Then, it hit her. “Wait, you mean, you were on your own until yesterday? When we found you?”

“No, I stayed with the neighbors for a while until they went into a store looking for food and never came out. I fell asleep in their car that night. You guys found me the next day.” She remained calm. She might be traumatized, Andrea thought.

“Well you’re alive. That’s the good news. Sophia, do you have any close family around here that we might be able to find for you?” Sophia shook her head. Andrea remained quiet for a while. “Well, you’re with us now, so you’re safe, okay?” Andrea reached over and brushed Sophia’s hair behind her ear. Sophia looked up at her and though she didn’t smile, she looked content. That much Andrea could deduce. “Alright. Let’s get you shooting. This is for your own safety,but you’re scared, just let me know, and we can stop. Deal?” Sophia nodded and took the small handgun offered to her.

“See that tree over there? Aim for it and shoot. Don’t think. Just shoot.”

Hesitant, yet pensive, Sophia held the gun in front of her with both arms fully extended. Slowly, her fingers pressed on the trigger and once the bullet exploded out of the barrel, Sophia jolted and fell to the ground in recoil. The tree was untouched.

“You okay?” Andrea offered her hand and helped Sophia to her feet. “In order to know the importance of good of form, you have to know the consequences of bad form. It’s how my dad taught my sister Amber and I.” Sophia didn’t seem upset, although she was a little shaken. “Plus, you didn’t hit the tree. Here, lemme help you out.” Andrea positioned Sophia’s limbs and explained how to look down the barrel of the gun to aim the shot.

“Okay. Whenever you’re ready big girl.” Sophia stood as though she had been a seasoned police officer for years, only miniaturized.

“Hey, what happened to your sister? Amber?”

Andrea wasn’t expecting the question and stumbled over her words. “Oh, Amber? I, uh, I had to put Amber to sleep.”

“Like a dog?” Sophia asked innocently.

“Yeah.”

Fire.

She lost her footing a bit, but wasn’t grounded this time. “Good! Better already. Keep going. This is going to take some practice.” She fired a few more bullets and one of them snapped the bark off the tree.

“I did it!” Sophia smiled for the first time since they found her yesterday.

“You did! You’re already a pro!” Andrea couldn’t help but grin and patted Sophia on the shoulder.

***

The sweat rode down the bridge of his nose to the tip and dripped onto Lori’s chest and the necklace that draped around her neck. Her breathing was in rhythm with Shane’s movement. Her hands roamed around his backside and found their way up into his thick curls of hair before bringing his face down to hers, moaning softly into each other’s mouths. Keeping quiet proved to be difficult.

Shane pulled up and his dark eyes found Lori’s. His stare was piercing but Lori couldn’t break free. Shane’s pace quickened as Lori grabbed at his ass and pulled him in. She let out a soft whimper when Shane brought a finger to her mouth to quiet her.

That’s when the relative silence was broken by gunshot.

They quickly broke apart and shuffled to get their clothes on in fear of an attack. Just as they emerged from their tent, four more shots were heard.

“Hey what the hell is goin’ on?” Shane called out.

Andrea turned up to see Lori and Shane through the trees. “Did I wake you? It’s noon, I’m sorry.”

“The hell you did, scared us half to death is more like it,” he snapped. “Why is that little girl holding a gun? Andrea, are you fuckin’—”

“I’m teaching  Sophia how to use a gun. She lost both her parents. And has no close relatives. So she’s with us for now, and I think if any child is gonna have a fighting chance, they should know how to shoot.”

“Andrea she’s NINE YEARS OLD! She’s not ready to be shootin’ at things, Andrea. She’s just a fuckin’ little kid.”

“Enough, you guys,” Lori cut in.

“Hey, my daddy taught me how to shoot when I was her age, don’t give me that bullshit,” Andrea began. “I think now is the perfect time to learn how to handle a gun, especially when it can save a  life .”

FIRE.

The head exploded and blood splattered onto Andrea’s back. The now-headless corpse dropped unceremoniously to the ground, gushing fluid. Sophia remained still in the stance Andrea had taught her only moments ago. Andrea turned to her quickly and pushed the gun away from pointing at her.

“Oh,” she swallowed, “my God, Sophia,” she was breathing quickly, “Sophia are you okay?” Her heart was racing and she brushed her hands through Sophia’s short hair before embracing her tightly. “Sophia,” her voice shaking, “Sophia, you saved my life.” Shane and Lori had rushed to Sophia’s side just as Andrea dropped to her knees. In the midst of the commotion, Sophia remained seemingly emotionless.

“I’m fine,” she said flatly. Andrea held her for a bit longer and kissed her forehead before getting up, wiping tears from her eyes. Shane pulled her aside, his face tight and enraged.

“That girl is  not okay, Andrea, She’s not, not in the least,” he whispered sharply. “That girl is traumatized, Andrea, do you understand me? Her parents are  dead . She has no family. She’s alone, she’s nine years old, and she just shot and made explode a fuckin’ walker, and she doesn’t even have two digits to her fuckin’ age yet.” His eyes were sharp as daggers.

“She saved my life, Shane. Because of what I taught her,” she replied slowly with eyes narrowed.

“You’re life wouldn’t need savin’ if you weren’t out here shootin’ around!” Shane struggled to keep his voice at a whisper.

“YA’LL FUCKERS TRYNA GIT ME KILLED? GET YOUR SHIT AND RUN THEY’RE COMIN’!” Merle yelled from a distance and came stumbling from the edge of a heavily wooded area where he had been hunting game.

“MERLE?” Shane stepped away from Andrea and caught sight of him running.

“THEM SHOTS YOU LET OFF BROUGHT THE LOT OF ‘EM. GET IN THE FUCKIN’ CAR.” His voice was breaking from screaming too loudly and from a lack of breath. He was in a full sprint. He was halfway towards us when they began to pour out from the thicket of tree trunks. Tens of hundreds of them shambling and dragging right for the site.

“Not my shots,” Shane said loud enough for everyone to hear but Merle. Andrea and Sophia exchanged glances. For the first time, Sophia looked scared.

Merle stumbled into the camp ranting and out of breath. “There I was, about to catch us some good ass bass in the river, when ya’ll start makin’ a god damn ruckus. How dumb can ya’ll be firin’ off rounds like that? Ya done probably signaled an entire army right to us. What the hell were ya’ll even shootin’ at?!” he exclaimed as he gathered his shotgun, ammo, and clothes into a duffle bag.

“Andrea was teaching Sophia how to shoot.” Shane said firmly as he broke down the tent he and Lori had just been in as quickly as he could while Lori gathered their supplies into the car.

“She WHAT?!” Merle boomed. Andrea chose to remain silent as she threw her things into a bag. “I knew you was a dumb blonde, but I didn’t know you was  that dumb.”

“Fuck you,” Andrea didn’t flinch.

Lori screamed from behind the car and almost immediately everyone dropped what they were doing and ran to her. Merle grabbed his shotgun and Shane went for the gun in his holster. Andrea grabbed her gun from Sophia and went up to the car, keeping Sophia behind her.

A walker had straddled Lori from behind as she was loading the back seat of the car. Shane took several shots from the side, successfully avoiding Lori in the struggle. Merle took a shot and incapacitated the walker for good. The body fell heavy on top of Lori’s and both Shane and Merle helped pull it off of her. Her once clean shirt was now heavily soiled with blood and other bodily fluids. She stumbled back out of the car crying hysterically, and found her way to Shane’s embrace. They muffled words a few words to each other. “Are you okay?” “I’m so sorry.” “I love you.” “I’ll never let you out of my sight again.”

“I hate to break this up folks but we got a big problem on our hands and it ain’t gonna hold up while ya’ll cry—” he stopped short as he caught sight of Lori’s neck. “Holy shit... is that a bite?”

“What? What are you—no, no, oh my God,” Lori felt around her neck and sure enough, found the wound. All the pain set in at once as soon as she brushed her fingers over it.

Merle brought his shotgun up and aimed for Lori.

“Mer—MERLE, will you hold on just a fuckin’ second? God dammit, lemme see that,” Shane got a closer look. His face was filled with fear when what he feared the most was true. He turned her around and held her again. “Listen baby, everythin’s gonna be alright, okay? Trust me.”

“Shane—” Andrea tried to step in, knowing this situation all too well.

“There’s no use in lying to me Shane, I know it’s a bite. You have to kill us. Do it, Merle.”

“Us?”

“I’m... I’m pregnant.”

FIRE.

Her body went limp in Shane’s arms and he was in shock before realizing the woman he loved—and his child—ceased to exist in that moment

Andrea turned to shield Sophia from the scene. She was nowhere to be seen. “SOPHIA?” she screamed.

“LORI!” Shane cried out.


End file.
